Stocks end mostly higher; S&P 500 notches record

Nasdaq slips but posts fifth straight weekly gain

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — The S&P 500 notched the latest in a string of record closes Friday as U.S. equities ended mostly higher but off of early gains inspired by a bigger-than-expected rise in February nonfarm payrolls to extend a weekly winning streak.

“The headline number on the jobs report was good, though the details were still mixed. More importantly, the underlying trend in the labor market is fairly good -- not booming, but certainly not falling off the table,” said John Canally, investment strategist at LPL Financial.

The S&P 500 index
SPX, -0.88%
rose 1.01 points, or 0.1%, to close at 1,878.04, adding to the previous record set on Thursday. Stocks saw choppy trading action over the course of the session.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average
DJIA, -1.11%
rose 30.83 points, or 0.2%, to 16,452.72. Both the benchmark and blue-chip indexes posted their second week of gains. The S&P 500 advanced 1% for the week, while the Dow gained 0.8%.

The Nasdaq Composite
COMP, -0.94%
bucked the trend, dropping 15.90 points, or 0.4%, to 4,336.22. The index record a fifth-straight weekly gain, rising 0.7% since last Friday.

“The next hurdle for the markets will be the FOMC meeting and Janet Yellen’s press conference – markets will be watching carefully for any hints in changes of policy,” Canally said. “Markets will also focus on weekly jobless claims and JOLTS reports for more clues on the health of the labor market. Specifically, how quickly the slack in hiring is being picked up.”

The steady pace of hiring last month — the biggest increase in three months — suggests the economy has not slowed as much as a recent spate of indicators appear to show. The unemployment rate, for example, edged up because more people entered the labor force in search of jobs. That’s usually a sign that workers think more jobs are available.

Separately, the U.S. trade deficit rose slightly to $39.1 billion in January from a revised $39 billion in the prior month, the Commerce Department said Friday. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had forecast a deficit of $39.7 billion.

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